Banford also has two prior strikes for felony convictions. He was convicted of manslaughter in 1991, and of robbery in 1987, Wagstaffe said.

The murder charge was justified, in part, Wagstaffe said, by the act that Banford was allegedly using drugs at the time of the crash, which killed East Palo Alto resident Danny Lee Dixon.

Banford was allegedly trying to evade police when the Land Rover he was driving struck Dixon’s motorcycle at Bay Road and University Avenue at 5:25 a.m., according to police. Dixon, 50, was declared dead at the scene.